Cardinal Health price target raised to $105 from $90 at ArgusArgus increased its price target on Cardinal based on what the firm sees as the company's solid Q2 results and its beneficial acquisition of Johnson & Johnsonís (JNJ) Cordis business. Argus expects Cordis to provide Cardinal with a new growth driver with higher margins. Argus keeps a Buy rating on Cardinal.

Johnson & Johnson EPS dilution from Cordis deal seems modest, says Wells FargoWells Fargo estimates that Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) planned sale of Cordis to Cardinal Health (CAH) should dilute J&J yearly EPS by about 3c-4c, assuming all is else equal, and the firm expects the company to be able to absorb at least some of this dilution and possibly offset the rest via share repurchases. Wells maintains its Outperform rating on J&J shares.

PharMerica announces wholesale agreement with Cardinal Health PharMerica Corporation (PMC) announced that it has entered into a new wholesale drug distribution agreement with Cardinal Health (CAH). The new agreement will take effect on April 1 and extend through June 2018. As part of the agreement, Cardinal Health will assume responsibility for the sourcing and distribution of branded and generic pharmaceuticals for PharMerica.

Cardinal Health to acquire Cordis for $1.94B in cashCardinal Health (CAH) announced plans to acquire Johnson & Johnson's (JNJ) Cordis business, a global manufacturer of cardiology and endovascular devices, for $1.94B in cash, or approximately $1.59B, net of the present value of tax benefits. The acquisition is expected to be financed with a combination of $1B in new senior unsecured notes and the remainder with existing cash. The transaction is expected to close in the United States and key non-U.S. countries towards the end of calendar 2015. Assuming this timing, Cardinal Health expects fiscal 2017 accretion in non-GAAP diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of greater than 20c per share, which includes the cost of an incremental 7c-8c per share of interest expense associated with financing the transaction. The company expects the acquisition to be increasingly accretive thereafter and assumes that synergies will exceed $100M annually by the end of fiscal 2018. Cordis had annual sales in 2014 of approximately $780M, split almost evenly between cardiology and endovascular products. Upon completion of that process, Cardinal Health expects to enter into a definitive purchase and sale agreement in respect of the proposed acquisition. The proposed transaction will also be subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the approximately 20 principal countries towards the end of calendar year 2015 and in the remaining countries on a rolling basis afterward.